An Angel Indeed
by SiriusLovesRent
Summary: When Collins and Angel first met in high school. Collins tries to hide his sexuality. Angel's out in the open. What happens when Collins falls for his new friend? CollinsAngel, RogerMimi, and MarkMaureen. AU
1. Him

**A/N: Hey, all. I have no idea how this is gonna turn out, its my first Collins/Angel fic, and I'm hoping you're all gonna like it. So here it is! Oh by the way, I had to re-write this, because the crappiness of the first draft was annoying.**

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"Collins, this is Mimi's friend Angel I was telling you about. Um, so, yeah." Roger moved aside when he saw Mimi. Collins watched his friend leave with his girlfriend, who Collins still didn't know at all. He stared into the face of his new acquaintance.

"Hey, I'm Tom...Collins." Collins corrected himself. He hated his first name. _Thomas_...it sounds so...dignified. Which Collins definitely was not.

Collins looked the boy down. He looked like an _angel_. He was absolutely gorgeous. He had deep brown eyes, dark brown hair, and an adorable smile. The angel had facial hair just like Collins himself, a perfect goatee. It went perfectly with his skin. Collins knew he was Latino from the minuet he saw him. His skin told it to him. A kind of olive color that highly differed from Collins' dark, chestnut colored skin. It looked very soft and nice... _Oh crap, no, don't do this. _Who knows if he even liked boys the way Collins did? But he was gorgeous, that Collins could not deny. He was perfect.

"Hi, I'm Angel." Oh, now that's just to easy.

"Hi." Collins managed to say. Looks? Screw looks. Angel's voice sent chills down Thomas Collins's spine.

"Hey. So, what's up with this... school?"

Collins shrugged. "Well we come here for six hours to learn stuff. Half of which will never come in use for us in later years."

"It's hell here." Angel muttered, looking around as kids walked through the door. Collins noticed that he had a habit of looking at Collins nervously, as if to make sure he was still there.

"Mmm...they made it clear High School here would be hell. The first day we got here. A few years later, and they still haven't broken their promise." Collins gazed at Angel. He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned a little bit when Angel looked up at him.

"You know...I've been watching you. Ever since Mimi told me about you." Angel said as they sat down on a bench, waiting for the bell to ring.

Collins giggled. "Watching me? Are you a stalker?" He couldn't hide his small, bashful smile.

"Not stalker watching. Just... I don't know... watching. Looking away when you saw me." Angel smiled at him, blushing lightly.

Collins stared at his shoes. His own face turned a deep shade of red. He always tried to be cool, and usually was. But right now, he was anything but.

Angel tilted Collins's chin upward and stared into his eyes. He smiled almost approvingly. Collins blushed even more. He suddenly felt his throat close up. Finally, Angel let him go and spoke. "You know chico, you're cute when you blush." Angel commented.

Collins chuckled nervously. As if responding to his prayers the bell rang and everyone headed inside.

"See ya 'round, Collins." Angel waved and hurried off. Collins stared after him. He definitely needed to get closer with this boy. He sighed a huge sigh and ran inside after his best friend Mark, who was trying to get a date with their friend Maureen...again.

"PLEASE MAUREEN!" pleaded Mark.

"Mark, baby, I told you, I am OVER blonds. Maybe next week." she strutted away after a dark haired boy...and then away again after a dark haired girl.

Mark sighed. He looked at Collins sadly. Mark studied his friend's face for a few minuets. "You okay, man?"

_Odd. _Collins thought. Actually, he'd never felt better. What could Mark think was possibly _wrong_ with him?

"Yeah. I feel amazing actually." Collins grinned, thinking about Angel.

"Really? I could go for some happiness. What's up?"

"I just met..." _Shit_. Mark didn't know he was gay. None of his friends did. God knows if they would accept him. No, he couldn't tell him. He would keep his homosexuality a secret. No matter what. "A really..._really_...hot girl."

"Did she like you?"

"I'll have to find out." It wasn't a total lie. Angel had been hot, and he didn't know if he liked him back. And he did have to find out. _T__he only real lie, _Collins convinced himself, _is that Angel's not a girl._

"Do you like her?"

"I think...Mark I think I love her." Collins looked Mark in the eyes.

"I wish Maureen loved me the way you love...what's her name, anyway?"

"Angel."

Mark gave him a strange look, which Collins responded with a smile. Angel was an Angel...literally. And Collins needed to see him again.

**How do you like? I like it. So review. I would appreciate it.**


	2. If You Were Gay

**Hey, hey, hey. Back for the 2****nd**** chapter. Enjoy!**

**Jon Larson owns it all**

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"Collins...COLLINS!"

Collins blinked a few times. He looked around his friend's bedroom then came to focus on someone else's face. Roger Davis blurred into vision. He looked confused...well, more then usual. _Damn..._ Collins thought. _Stop zoning out, he'll be able to tell somethings up. Roger's stupid...but not that stupid._

"What?" Collins asked.

"I said, how do you like Angel?" Roger asked.

Collins's face started to burn and he felt like he was about to pass out. "H-he's cool."

"Why are you stuttering?" Roger tilted his head to the side and inspected Collins' face.

"Roger, _shut up._" Collins ordered, almost exasperatedly.

Roger gave him a look, but let let his gaze go back to his guitar. A few minuets later, Roger looked at him again. "You'll never guess what Mimi told me..."

"She's to good for you?" Collins tried sarcastically.

"She told me that Angel was gay." Roger ignored the previous comment.

If Collins had been holding something, he would've dropped it. He could've screamed, smiled, jumped, anything. But he didn't do any of those things. Unfortunately, he had reacted the wrong way: "So why are you telling me this? Hmm? Why should I care? I don't care. What'd you have for lunch today?"

Roger's brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, you don't have to get all defensive about it."

"I AM NOT GETTING DEFENSIVE!" cried Collins, waving his arms wildly. "Why do I care if Angel's gay or not?"

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it, man. I just think it's something we should be able to talk about." Roger muttered.

"I do not want to talk about it, Roger! This conversation is over!"

"C'mon Collins-"

"OVER." Collins stated firmly.

"Mimi told me he said he liked you." Roger pushed.

"W-what? I mean... umm..." Collins trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Collins, don't be that way! So he's gay! Who the hell cares? You're his friend, whether you like it or not." Roger kicked him a little bit.

"_Oh_, you meant as a friend!" Collins pointed at him, understanding.

"Well... duh. What do you think I meant?" Roger started to laugh. "Did you think I meant... like "Whoa, you're hot, let's bang each other senseless" like?"

"No, I- I thought you meant friend like..." Collins stared at his shoes. He glanced up at Roger. He was laughing... _Well, I guess this can't get worse._

"No you didn't!" Roger started to laugh harder.

Collins knew it was coming. He could almost see himself walking up to Roger and smacking him across the face as hard as he could. "Shut up." he whispered.

"You're gay?" the young rocker proceeded to crack up. _Neeeevermind._

"SHUT UP! THIS IS SERIOUS! AND I SWEAR IF YOU LAUGH ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME I WILL PUT YOUR HEAD THROUGH A WALL! ANY WALL! YOU CAN _PICK_ THE WALL, BUT YOUR HEAD WILL GO THROUGH A WALL!" Collins cried. After yelling this, he mentally hit himself. _What's wrong with me? I never get angry..._

"Oh my God... you're... you're serious?" Roger had stopped laughing and was staring intently at Collins with concerned eyes.

"Yeah." Collins rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

"Wow... never coulda guessed that, man. How long have you known? I mean, when did you figure it out?" Roger looked at him in wonder. Like a little child.

"About a year ago." Collins stated in a small voice.

"And you didn't tell me?" Roger asked softly.

Collins looked up into Roger's sincere face. He wasn't laughing. "I... I didn't know if you would accept me or not."

"Well, that's stupid! How long have you known me? You do stupid shit... but not telling me your gay is probably the stupidest of everything. Your my friend, I love you, man. And if you don't know that by now, you got issues." Roger smirked a bit.

And Tom Collins smiled. The two friends leaned over and hugged each other tightly.

"Have you told Mark? Can we tell Mark? Can _I_ tell Mark?" he asked eagerly.

"No, you can't tell Mark! I'll tell him at the right time." Collins rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on! How do you expect me to keep this a secret from Mark? The three of us are best friends!" Roger made a small gesture to Collins, then to himself, then to the air next to him, but realized Mark wasn't there.

"Roger, I know. But... I need to tell him when I'm ready." Collins said.

"Fine," Roger dropped his gaze back to his Fender and started to play. Moments later, he stopped. "I wonder who decided to add the 'n' to damn. It's like, dam-ena."

"You ponder that." Collins said, looking out Roger's bedroom window.

"Thinkin' about Angel?" Roger asked in a sing-song voice.

"No!" Collins threw a pillow at him.

"'Cause you like him." Roger pressed on.

"I do not!" Collins waved his arms wildly.

"Do you think you do?" Roger asked, ignoring Collins' angry outbursts.

"I don't know! I haven't given it much thought!" Collins lied.

"Yes you have." Roger smirked, staring at Collins.

"Yes I have." It was true. For the past couple of weeks, Angel Dumott Schunard was the only thing Thomas B. Collins could think about anymore.

"You like what you see?" Roger said in a fake sexy voice.

"I think... I think I do." Collins smiled at the realization.

Roger grinned. "MY LITTLE BOY'S GOT A CRUSH!" he poked Collins in the shoulder repeatedly.

"Could you not?" Collins laughed.

"Yeah, hold on." he poked Collins a few more times then stopped.

"Are you done, little boy?" The anarchist joked.

He poked him one more time. "Yup."

"Good." Collins chuckled.

"Well, hey at least I can feel special. I was told before anyone else! Yay!" Roger clapped his hands.

"ROGER! DINNER!" Mrs. Davis called from down the hall of the Davis family apartment.

"You wanna stay for dinner?" Roger asked, putting his guitar carefully back on his bed.

"Your mom cooked?" Collins muttered, already standing up.

"Yeah, probably." Roger moved toward the bedroom door.

"See ya." Collins bolted out of his room to the tiny living room. Not bothering to use the door, he climbed out on the fire escape.

Roger laughed. "Bye." He waved.

"Bye." Collins jumped down the steps.

--

As Collins walked home, he passed the familiar Cohen family apartment, and sighed. He started to walk towards the building, but stopped himself. "Another time."

--

**Good God, you all, REVIEW FOR ONCE!**


	3. Damn Flash Button

**A/N: Hello, readers! This was written by the best friend I ever had, my co-author, the cooliest person I know (not really) PRONGSLOVESRENT! Yay! Okay, so enjoy.**

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Collins sighed as he reached the door of the small apartment his family lived in. He wasn't sure that he wanted to go in just yet, but rather wait outside in the hall and think for a few minutes time. He sat near the door and leaned against the wall. He put his head in his hands. _What would my family think if they knew?_... he thought to himself. _Nothing would ever be the same, or would it? Would anyone accept me like Roger did? No… I'm better off just keeping to myself. No one has to know yet…_

His thinking was interrupted at the sound of the front door opening. "Tommy? What're you doing out here?" Mrs. Collins asked. He clinched at the sound of the nickname _Tommy_. Only his own mother would ever get away with calling him by it, despite his many attempts to get her not to use the name. 

"Nothing ma," He responded without looking back at her, "thinking." 

His mother knelt down beside him, surveying his face with that "parental concern". "Rough day?" she questioned him. She wasn't one to pry into her son's personal life, and knew when to back off, but that might've been because it was rare that anyone found Tom Collins in a bad mood.

"Unbelievably rough, just a lot on my mind, I guess…" he trailed off.

"Well, if it helps, I made brownies." Mrs. Collins tried hopefully to put a smile on his face.

"You baked?" Collins chuckled, "And how long did it take to put out the fire?"

"There was no fire! Although, the brownies came out a bit more like moose cake then I'd have liked, but chocolate is chocolate. A depression food no matter what form!" she exclaimed. 

"Cheers to that." Collins laughed getting to his feet and looking at his mother, he began to crack up.

"What?" she asked, looking around.

"The apron! You're wearing an apron! And it's got chocolate stains on it, did you lose a fight to the mixer?" he teased. It was funny how he could amuse himself in his own bad moods. He always put a smile on his own face.

"I liked your depression better." Mrs. Collins retorted playfully, "Come on, let's go inside and try some of that poisonous moose cake."

Collins laughed, "Alright."

About an hour later Collins sat on his bed, flipping idly through the pages of his history book, which was his idea of reading pages 120 through 143.

The phone on his bedside table rang and he picked it up, thankful for any distraction from his homework assignment.

"Hello?" Collins said into the receiver.

"_Hey Collins, its Roger_." came the voice on the other end, "_what's up?"_

"Nothing much Rog, attempting to do the homework…So get this I actually _talked_ to my mom today."

"_Umm… shocker?"_

"Well, I don't mean talk like '_hi—how was your day—mine too—gonna go do my homework.'_ We sort of bonded I guess. You know, parents aren't as horrible as they seem."

"_So your homosexuality broke through to a sensitive side that allowed you to spend time with your mother, that's nice, dude." _Collins could practically hear his friend smiling through the phone, Roger laughed.

"Ha ha, you're wit amazes me…" He snapped sarcastically.

"_Doesn't it though?_" Collins heard the tone that meant he had another call.

"Hold on, I've got someone on the other line." -He hit the flash button- "Hello?"

"_Hey, it's Mark_."

"Hey Mark; hold on a sec, I've got Roger on the other line." -He hit the flash button- "It was Mark."

"_Dude! You have to tell him, it's like fate…He called you the same day that you told me!_" 

"Rog, Mark calls like everyday."

"_Good point… You should still tell him though!"_

"No." 

"_Yes!"_

"No!" 

"_Fine…_" Roger settled disappointedly.

"Hold on, let me see what he wants" -he hit the flash button- "I'm back."

"_Cool, so I need the homework assignment for History, I guess I forgot to write it down."_

"Sure. Wait a sec," -he hit the flash button- "Mark's asking me for the History assignment! See? He's totally oblivious. He doesn't know that I'm gay and he likes me this way! Why _should_ I tell him?"

"_What?!_" Collins dropped the phone. That wasn't Roger's voice. It was Mark's. _Damn Flash button…_

"_Collins? Collins!" _He heard Mark's voice call from the phone on the floor. He picked up the phone and hit the flash button again.

"Shit, Roger, I am so screwed, man."

"_Why what'd you do?_" His voice became more serious, which was something new for Roger.

"I hit the flash button to talk to you and it either didn't work or I pressed the wrong button but I accidentally said to Mark what I wanted to say to you and now he knows!" Collins explained.

"No, this is good! How'd he react?" Roger inquired."I dunno, I dropped the phone."

"Good one."

"On purpose!"

"Oh, well, do you want me to call him or something? I could figure out what he thinks."

"No! Do not call him! In fact, I forbid you to talk to him ever again." 

"Ever?"

"Ever."

"Why what'd he do?"

"Nothing, it's not what he did it's what he knows."

"Gay men are so complex…"

"I'm hanging up on you!"

"It takes all the effect out of hanging up on someone if you warn them firs-"

Collins hit the end button and put the phone back on the hook.

--

**A/N: So that's the third chapter! Hope ya liked it…Wonderful isn't it? BEGGING for reviews! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review! It makes ALL the difference. If you don't then the chapters may just mysteriously start getting posted at a slower rate…C'mon do it for poor Collins in his confusing homosexual crisis! **


	4. I'll Try

**A/N: Here we go, this chapter **_**sucks**_** I know. My friends keep telling me. So if ANYONE has ANY ideas of what to do with this, PLEASE tell me!**

**Jon Larson, he's the man, he owns it all**

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Collins paced his room. Now he was left in wonder and confusuion. What could Mark possibly think now? He hadn't exactly been told in the best way...

And then the phone rang.

"Tommy, pick up the phone, it's Mark!" Mrs. Collins called from the kitchen.

"No!" Collins shouted back.

"If you don't you're eating more of my cooking!" his mom called jokingly.

He grumbled some more curses and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he heard a _click!_ as his mother hung up.

"_Collins?" _Mark asked, for lack of better words.

"Hey." Collins said faintly.

"Umm...how are you?" Mark questioned, again, for lack of better words.

"Freaking awesome." Collins said dully, wanting this wreck of a phone call to end.

"That's good!" Mark exclaimed, as if he had something to actually talk about.

"Sarcasm." Collins informed him.

"Right." Mark said, also very dull.

There were a few minuets of silence and Collins was about to hang up when: "I'm really sorry. For the way I reacted. I don't know if it made you mad or anything...I was just shocked. And, just for, you know, future reference, you being gay is all okay with me."

Collins felt his heart skip a beat. But, just because Mark knew he was gay didn't mean he had to know he was starting to get all these sensitive feelings. He could still seem as manly as the next guy. "Thanks, Mark."

_Beep!_

"Another call, hold on." He pressed the flash button for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Hello?"

"_You know, Collins, hanging up on someone really isn't cool. That could make a less secure person feel unwanted. You should watch that. It's not nice."_ Roger's voice.

Collins laughed and he knew it would all be okay.

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Collins sighed. He looked out the window of the classroom. Who cared if he was late for his next class? He leaned against the window sill. He rubbed her hands over his face roughly. There was something wrong with him.

He stared out the window for a few minuets. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something he thought he had given up for good. A cigarette. He sighed deeply and stared at it. Collins only smoked when he needed calming down or something to just relax with.

"So, you're a smoker." Collins jumped. He spun around and saw Angel. He was standing by the entrance of the classroom and smirking disapprovingly.

"Cool! How'd you do that? Did you teleport here or something? Are you a super hero? Because that'd be awesome." Collins smiled in wonder.

"Yes, I have special powers. I can see the future too." Angel walked over to Collins, closing the door softly behind him.

The two shared a laugh, but Angel's face became serious. "Okay, I have to know. What're you doing with that?"

"Things are really messed up right now, Ang." Collins sighed again.

"Spare me, please." Angel rolled his eyes. "I know you're smart, so put it down."

"But...but... it's hard," he whined.

"Well, life's tough. Get a helmet." Angel winked at him charmingly. Collins blushed and looked down at his hands, but realized Angel's were more interesting.

For some odd reason he was fascinated by the way Angel twisted and bent his fingers in different ways. Collins squinted to see something he had just noticed about Angel's nails. They had a light, barely visible shade of pink nail polish on them. He managed to stop his fascination with Angel's fingers and looked up at him. "Okay...okay. I'll try."

Angel smiled. "Thanks."

"Why are you so worried about me anyway?" Collins had to ask.

"I care about you!" Angel said. He gave a tiny smile and looked down.

"You...care about me?" Collins felt his own smile creeping up on his face.

"What is this? Third grade? Yes, of course I care about you!" he held out his hand. "Gimme."

Collins looked sadly at the joint in his hand and handed it to Angel. Angel opened the window and threw it out. "I hope it hits some person who calls me a faggot." he peered out to see where it went, but the window was to high up. Collins tried to take in what Angel said.

_A faggot? That means gay...which means, Angel really is gay. Wowzers. _Collins thought.

Collins looked at Angel. Angel looked back at him. "What?"

"Faggot?" Collins murmured.

Angel looked at him strangely. "You didn't know? I'm gay."

Collins beamed like he had never beamed before. "Really?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Is that okay?" He looked worriedly at him, as if he hadn't gotten many positive responses to his coming out.

"Of course!" Collins exclaimed a little too happily. "I mean...of course."

Angel grinned. "Good. He looked up at the clock on the wall. "I think I'm a little too late for my next class...I'm gonna go."

Collins felt a wave of sadness spread across him. He liked Angel being there. "Alright. Umm, see you later?"

"Of course." Angel nodded. "But don't you dare stick one of those in your mouth when I leave." Angel said sternly.

"No, I won't." Collins assured him.

"Okay. I should really get going."

And there Collins was again. Standing alone. In that same abandoned classroom. He had two more cigarettes stashed in his pockets. He pulled them out and without hesitation, threw them out the window. "I'll try..." and he walked out the door, finally, and hurried to his next class.

**A/N: That totally sucked. Sorry!! You don't have to review this one if you don't feel like it. Oh, but I do wanna give a shout-out to my brother, Regulus, for supplying the word "Wowzers".**


	5. Driving Miss Johnson

**A/N: Padfoot: Read this chapter. Then review it. Okay, here's Prongs, say hi Prongs…**

**Prongs: This is ProngsLovesRent. **

**Padfoot: Okay, so this chapter is by me and Prongs, cuzzzzz he's my best friend. Okay now, R&R…**

**Jon Larson owns it all**

---

Collins walked down the hallway, his mind racing. So Angel _was_ gay. And on top of that, he cared about him. But even if that were true, what did it mean? What came next? He didn't know what to do. But then again, he'd do what he'd always done: Go to Roger, Mark, and Maureen.

"So…what do you think?" Collins asked his three best friends. He had just given them a play by play of everything that had happened between him and Angel. They sat in their sixth period science class.

"Wait lemme get this straight," Maureen started, trying to comprehend the story, seeing as she was the least informed, "You and Angel Schunard are both gay and you're in _love_ with him?! NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING ANYMORE!" she exclaimed.

"Welcome to my world." Mark muttered bitterly. He was the only one taking notes while the teacher spoke. Roger and Maureen were too occupied with the story.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm in _love_ with him. Maybe I am but I don't know how to tell. I just wish I knew what he thinks of me." Collins explained.

"Mrs. Kennedy's goddamn lectures are making it really hard to talk. Why can't she just shut up?" Roger whispered so she wouldn't hear him.

"Because she's the teacher!" Mark reminded him between his note-taking.

Maureen smirked evilly, "I bet I can get her out of the room."

Roger looked at her like she was God. "You can do that?" he questioned excitedly. Maureen nodded and with a smirk, she raised her hand, her manicured nails gleaming in the light.

Mrs. Kennedy glared at Maureen. Her mind seemed to be trying to decide whether she could pull off ignoring her or not. They'd never been big fans of each other. Eventually though, she had to call on her. "Yes Miss Johnson?"

"May I please go to the bathroom?" She requested politely.

"Can you repeat the last thing I said?" The teacher asked knowingly. Maureen never paid any attention in class and was bound to have no idea. Maureen nodded confidently. "Oh really? What was it?"

"Yes Miss Johnson." Maureen answered. Collins, Mark, and Roger laughed.

"Just _go_…" Mrs. Kennedy told her with a sigh. She stood up and walked out, closing the door behind her. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the classroom's number. She heard the phone ring inside and Mrs. Kennedy picked up. "_Hello?_" Her voice came on the other line.

Maureen put on her best secretary's voice. "Hi, this is Mallory Kennedy, correct?"

"_Yes_."

"This is Scarsdale High's secretarial office. Do you drive a red Ferrari?" She asked, remembering the number of times her teacher had rambled on about her car.

"_Yes._" She repeated, but now her voice was etched with concern.

"Oh, well your car is going to be towed. You parked in a handicap space and you need to report to the main office of the building if you'd like to get your car back. Thank you, good bye." She ended; flipping her phone closed and hoping to God that teacher had bought it. The door opened and her teacher came out.

"Miss Johnson?" She queried, her eyes falling on the phone in her hand. "I thought you were going to the lavatory…" She stated suspiciously, raising her eyebrows.

"Well," she thought quickly, "I had to call my mom to tell her I was going to the bathroom. She has to know how many times I go a day. I might have diabetes. Doctor's orders." Thankfully, she seemed convinced.

"Alright, go back to class now." And with that Mrs. Kennedy set off down the corridor towards the main office on the other side of the school.

"_Yes_!" Maureen exclaimed in a hushed tone when the teacher was close to out of earshot. She re-entered the room and sat down with her friends, satisfied with her work.

"What did you do?" Collins asked curiously. "Mrs. K left after practically having a heart attack!"

"I didn't do anything irrational, just enough to get her out of the classroom for a little while." Maureen insisted.

"I don't even wanna know…" Roger said shaking his head. "But you somehow got rid of her and for that I am eternally grateful." He added, without knowing the meaning of either of the last two words he said. "So, if you and Angel get married is your last name Collins or Schunard? And if its Schunard does that mean we can't call you Collins because you don't look like a Schunard…" Roger rambled.

"You're so insensitive," Mark cut him off.

"That's not possible!" Roger countered, "I don't even know what insensitive means."

"I'm not talking to you anymore." Mark decided, shaking his head.

"Fine, I'll just get a dog and name him Mark and he'll be my friend. It'll be nice to have a dog who can catch a ball when I throw it to him!"

"Guys, shut _up_." Collins begged. "I really have no idea what I'm going to do."

"If you really like him, ask him out." Maureen advised. "From what it sounds like, he'll say yes."

"No!" Roger protested. "You can't ask him out, that'd be weird. Let _him_ ask _you_ out. Actually I've found it better when the guy asks the girl out but in this case, there is no girl so I guess you're screwed."

"Nicely put." Collins remarked sarcastically. His friends were only making it more confusing than it had been before. Now he had two different opinions. "Mark what do you think?"

"_I can catch a ball…_" Mark muttered absentmindedly under his breath. No help at all.

-----------------

"Hey, Tommy, baby." Mrs. Collins said as her son walked through the door.

"Hi, ma." Collins said, kissing her on the cheek. Collins threw himself down in a chair by the kitchen table. After talking to his friends, he was just more confused. Although his mind wouldn't remain at ease. What if he _did_ ask Angel out? He needed more advice.

And without thinking, he opened his mouth. "Mom? I need...advice."

Mrs. Collins turned to him from her spot at the sink. As she dried a wet cup, she spoke back to him. "What's up?"

"Uh..." Would he tell his mom? _Should _he tell his mom? Was it the right time? "Remember Mark?" Guess he wasn't telling his mom.

"Let's see...your best friend, the one who calls every day, and the one who comes over EVERY weekend?" Mrs. Collins smiled.

Collins paused. "Okay, good, so you remember him."

"Okay, baby, so what about Mark?"

"Well, uh, he likes this girl-" Collins began.

"Is Mark really you? Are you gonna try and fool me? Do you really like a girl, Tommy?"

Collins blushed deeply. He gulped. His mom knew something. "No, mom. I can honestly say I don't," he said. "So, anyway, Mark asked me for help. But I didn't know what to say. What do I say to him? I think I--he wants to ask hi--her out." Collins cursed himself in his mind. Hopefully his mom didn't hear him stutter over the running water at the sink. If she asked anymore questions, he would surely break down and come out to his mom.

"Well, I think Mark should just ask her out if he wants to," Collins thanked God his mother wasn't one to pry.

"But, Mom, he doesn't know if this girl likes him back."

"Tom," his mother sat down in the chair next to him. "Tell Mark to follow his heart. It can't hurt." she stood up quickly and walked back toward the sink where she began washing dishes again.

Collins sighed deeply. "Thanks, ma." he walked out of the small kitchen and into his room, closing the door behind him.

He took a deep breath and picked up the phone. This was it. He shakily dialed Angel's familiar number.

"_Hello_?" Angel voice answered. Angel's voice always calmed him down, but now...it just sped his racing heart up even more.

"Uh, h-hey, it's Collins." Collins said nervously.

"_Hey_!" Angel said brightly.

"Um, Ang..."

"_Yeah_?"

"Angel, there's something I wanted to ask."

"_Shoot._"

Collins took a huge breath and closed his eyes. _This is it. _"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out. With me. On Friday." Collins let out the breath he had been holding. There was a long pause on the line.

_Shit, this was too early! I knew it! Note to self: Never listen to your mother._

"_Seriously?_" Angel finally said.

"Yeah. Seriously," Collins said. "I mean, I know I'm not all that good looking, and I stutter a lot, but it's only because I get nervous when I like someone and-"

"_Collins_!" Angel laughed. "_Stop. If you really want to go out with me...then I would want nothing else. I would love to go out with you_."

Collins had to do a double-take on that one. Angel has seriously said yes. His fantasies were coming true, after weeks of wanting this, it was finally happening. "Can you repeat that?"

Angel giggled. "_I would love to go out with you_."

"You said yes?" Collins jumped up from the bed.

"_Yup_," Angel responded.

"Oh my God..." Collins breathed. "Okay, well, um, pick you up at eight on Friday, then?"

"_Sounds good_."

"Awesome!" Collins cried, unable to contain his glee.

"_Cool_," Angel giggled happily. "_Okay, hon. I have to go. See you tomorrow, Collins_!" With a _'click'_ Angel hung up.

Collins hung up the phone and threw himself down on his bed, only to spring up again and start jumping around his room.

_Note to self: Forget that last note to self; always listen to your mother._

**---**

**A/N: So, there was chapter five! Ta da! I'm so glad it's finally up. Alright, now you know the drill: Go write a nice, long review and I'll update sooner. I swear to God, the next chapter won't be such a long wait. Okay, so, review and see ya next chapter. **


	6. The Insanest Of Them All

**Hey everyone. I had to finish my sentence at the end of the chapter, because I'm so retarded I forgot.**

**A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter. Here's the chapter before the chapter you've all been waiting for. The brainstorming chapter. Where three of our favorite bohemians sit in a room and talk about Collins's date. Okay, here we go. A bit of humor before the chapter you've all been waiting for. NOW READ.**

**Jon Larson owns it all.**

**BTW: The winner of the 60th reviewer contest, goes to...Amanda! Check the reviews if you wanna see her review. Congrats, Amanda. There will be more contests throughout the fic, so be prepared.**

"February 7th, six pm Eastern Standard time. Close on Collins, in three days he will be going on his first date with the lovely and talented Angel Schunard! Which, might I add, it is also his first date with a guy!" He turned the camera away from Maureen and Roger snickering to Collins' glaring face. "Smile." Mark grinned.

"Mark!" Collins cried.

Mark laughed in response. Collins smacked him in the head which shut him up, considering he was on the floor in pain.

"What have I done?" Collins asked his three best friends after a few minuets of Mark whining.

"You asked out the guy your practically in love with!" Maureen replied. "How much better can you get then that?"

"Why though?"

"What the hell, Collins?" Mark asked, looking up. "Do you not like him anymore?"

"No. I do like him. A lot." Collins said.

"See? Isn't that so cute?" Roger smiled, his long blond hair falling into his eyes.

Collins turned red. "God, guys, I'm so nervous. What if he doesn't like me? What if he does like me? What if he wants to kiss me?"

"Then kiss him back! Collins you've been wanting this to happen since the day you met him!" Roger cried.

"I'm aware! But what if I kiss him and he thinks I'm a crappy kisser and he never goes out with me again?"

Roger stood and put his hands on Collins shoulders. "Collins, come ON. Does that really sound sound like Angel to you?"

Collins shook his head. He was so worried. All this was happening so fast, and...

"No, I thought not," Roger stared at him. "Mark, me, and Maureen will help you get through this."

"This is going to be my toughest case yet." Maureen said. Mark stared at her as she walked toward Collins.

"Mark, eyes off my ass, before my foot is up yours." Maureen snapped, spinning around to face him.

Mark shrugged. "At least I'll be getting some action."

Maureen rolled her eyes but smiled. "Perv."

"What do you mean by...case?" Collins asked, directing the topic back to him instead of Mark and Maureen's asses.

"I mean your my new case! I'm going to make you over! Your going to look like a real gay man when I'm done with you! I'll put you in some tight jeans, tight shirt-"

"Maureen," he stopped her mid-rant. "I'm gay. Not you."

"Screw you. That is so not true." Maureen pouted.

"Yes it is." Mark and Roger chimed in.

"Whatever! I am better looking then all of you!" Maureen snapped her fingers dramatically. She paused in thought. "Are you calling me fat?"

The boys stared at her for a moment, shook their heads, and went back to talking. "What do we do?" Collins bit his fingernails, a nervous habit he picked up from his mother. "Can one of you guys, like, come on the date with me or something?"

Roger thought. "Well, me and Mimi are going out. We already made plans. Cohen?"

"Only if I have a date." Mark, Roger, and Collins looked at each other, then at Maureen. Maureen looked at them.

"What?" she asked, dumbly.

"You gotta be Mark's date." Roger stated.

Mark's face lifted greatly.

"And you GOTTA be kidding. Mark? No way. He's been trying to get a date with me since we were four. And what have I always said? Um, hold on I'm thinking..." she pondered, sarcastically.

"Okay, Mo, I understand-" Collins started.

"SHUT UP! I'm thinking..." she cried.

"Does anyone know if she was ever blond?" Roger whispered.

"SHUT UP I'M...dammit, I forgot what I was thinking about. Look, the point is, I'm not going out with Mark." Maureen crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Please? For me? Come on, Mo! Like you said, I'm practically in love with him. I AM in love with him actually..." he trailed off. "We've known each other since second grade! Remember? I went up to you and asked if I could borrow your crayon...and..." Collins waited for her to finish the rest of the story.

She giggled and smiled. "And I screamed "no" in your face and threw this other kid's box at your forehead. I even remember that kid. He was my first boyfriend...or was he my second...third...? Who cares, he was a loser. Oh, good times," she smiled in memory. Yeah, a good time for her. Collins still remembered how much his second grade head had hurt. But hey if this was gonna make her go out with Mark, he would just have to deal with it.

"Mo?" Collins asked, praying in his mind.

"Well..." she stared at Collins for a long moment. Her eyes landed on Mark. She smiled. "Okay, okay. But Mark, you better keep those goddamn eyes off my ass."

Collins hugged her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Oh yeah, you are so gay." Maureen smirked, hugging him back.

Collins shrugged. "That's the way I roll."

He turned around to find Mark staring at Maureen, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Collins shook his head. "Mark, you got the date. Stop before she cancels it. Just close your mouth and make your eyes go back to normal size."

Mark suddenly fainted.

"Oh my God, should we get water or something?" Collins bent down beside his friend.

Maureen waved it off. "Nah, leave him there. He needs to get used to my awesome-ness."

Collins rolled his eyes. For about an hour the three sat in various parts of Mark's room, brainstorming.

Mark suddenly bolted up.

Collins screamed, Maureen fell off her chair, and Roger jumped about five feet in the air.

Roger clutched his chest, heaving. "Jesus Mark, warn us before you jump up from a mid-coma."

"I GOT IT! LET'S TAKE HIM ON _QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY_!" Mark declared, ignoring the fact that his friends were all attempting to get their heart rates back to normal.

"Yeah!" Roger and Maureen agreed.

"Come on, it'll be fun! They'll gay you up!" Roger said.

"Excuse me! Didn't I already offer to do that? Maureen said.

The boys ignored her.

Collins turned to Roger. "NO WAY IN HELL!"

"Please?" Mark begged.

"_QUEER EYE FOR THE __**STRAIGHT**__ GUY_! I'm not straight!" Collins roared.

"Yeah, but I heard that they're starting to make over not only straight people, but gay people to!" Mark said, as if that would make Collins want to go on.

"No." Collins shook his head firmly.

"Fine, but your gonna be of no luck on this date if you don't go on." Roger shrugged.

"Screw you." Collins snarled.

Roger chuckled. He shrugged. "Sorry, I've made other plans."

"Your probably horrible in bed anyway." Collins smirked. Mark and Maureen burst out laughing. Roger shot Collins a death glare.

"Not that I don't totally completely LOVE the sex talk we're having, but can we get back to helping Collins?"

"This is helping me! I now know that Roger's crappy in bed."

"Eww," Mark said.

Collins laughed. Maureen nudged Mark in the ribs. "Come on Marky. We can talk about sex. Oh, like the song! Let's talk about sex baby...damn, I forgot the words."

"Oh, darn! Because we _really_ love your singing and we'll just _die_ without it!" Roger cried sarcastically, stretching.

"Gee Rog, aren't you good at the whole people person thing?" Mark straightened his glasses.

They sat there for about an hour more until Maureen stood up, telling them she had to leave. Then Roger departed, then Mark. And Collins was left alone in his room. Friday was going to be the best day of his life, no doubt. He and his friends had a strategy figured out. Now the only thing left to do was wait. That's always the hardest part.

---

**A/N: And there you have it! There's the chapter before the big date. But don't even think it's even close to over. Well, I hoped you like it, now you have to do something for me: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEWWWWW!!! PLEASE!! I AM BEGGING YOUUU! And don't you dare put one of those "Cute. Next chapter now." reviews. No, you all can write real reviews, and I better see them. So HA! See ya next chapter! I want a decent amount of reviews so do it now! **

**_Warning_: The next chapter could take a bit longer. So, hold on for a bit. The next chapter WILL be the date. Also some Mark/Maureen. ProngsLovesRent and I are going to try and see if we can put Mimi in. Joanne could become a character in the fic, not sure. There could be some Benny, but again I'm not positive. Okay, now, go review or I'll sue you.**


	7. The Date: Part I

**A/N: Here it is: The chapter you've ALL been waiting for! THE DATE! This chapter was so important to me (ProngsLovesRent) and SiriusLovesRent that we decided it was just TOO big for **_**one **_**chapter. So we divided it into "The Date Part I" and "The Date Part II." I hope they were worth the long wait! A lot of the decisions of events were based on Rock, Paper, Scissors but it was definitely a fun chapter. Enjoy. **

**Jon Larson owns it all**

**--**

Collins stared at his own reflection in his bedroom mirror. He shook his head and sighed doubtfully. The same old Tom Collins stared back at him. Why would anyone ever like an ordinary mediocrity like him?

"You okay man?" Roger asked, putting his hand on his shoulder to show his support. "Are you having second thoughts?" He questioned, staring at the back of his head as if trying to see what he was thinking.

"No," Collins answered coolly, and he wasn't. "I'm just kind of nervous. It'll pass." He assured him. "Where's Mark?" he said, changing the subject abruptly.

Roger shook his head, "_Trying_ to make himself look cool for his date with Maureen. _Which isn't even a __real__ date!_" Roger raised his voice when he said the last sentence so Mark could hear him from the hallway.

As if on cue, Mark stumbled into the bedroom, hopping up and down on one foot. "I stubbed my toe." He told them. Collins looked at Mark trying to place what was missing from his appearance.

"Well," Roger responded, "Maybe if you would put your _GLASSES_ back on, you would stop walking into walls!"

"You're just jealous because I look better now." Mark retorted to Roger, facing a lamp.

"I'm over here genius!" Roger said waving. Mark turned on the spot to face him.

"_I knew that…"_ He mumbled under his breath.

Roger handed Mark's glasses to Collins, "See if you can get him to wear them tonight." He muttered. Collins nodded and pocketed them while Mark wandered around the room bumping into various pieces of furniture.

Collins remembered something and turned to Roger, "Didn't you say you had plans with Mimi tonight?"

"Not until later, she's with Angel now…" He answered. The mention of Angel's name made Collins's stomach churn. "So," Roger continued, "I hope you don't mind if I go over there with you so me and Mimi can go straight to the movies from there."

"No problem." Collins said, with a slight shrug. "We should get going now." He added, looking down at his wrist watch. Roger and Mark nodded and the trio left the apartment.

---------

"Stay here for a second." Collins called to the driver as he stepped out and slammed the cab door behind him. Roger hopped out behind him. The driver nodded grudgingly.

Collins stared up at the apartment building, his palms sweating. "This is it." He said anxiously casting a side-glance at Roger standing beside him. Roger opened his mouth to respond when he was interrupted by a loud car horn.

The two of them turned on the spot to see Mark standing in the middle of traffic. "_ROGER? COLLINS? YOU GUYS! ARE WE AT THE RESTAURANT YET? IS MAUREEN HERE? DOES SHE THINK I LOOK COOL?!" _He shouted, spinning around in circles, looking for his friends.

"NO YOU LOOK STUPID!" A man yelled from his car.

"_MAUREEN! IS THAT YOU?_"

"Whoa there bud!" Roger rushed into the street, dragging Mark onto the sidewalk by his sleeve. He looked utterly confused but Collins ignored him. So Mark ambled off down the sidewalk obliviously. As Collins and Roger approached the building they heard laughter from above.

Collins raised an eyebrow. "Rog, I think _God's_ laughing at us…"

"No," Roger shook his head, "He's laughing at _Mark._" He said decidedly with a straight face.

Collins looked up, and on the fire escape were Mimi and Angel. Roger smiled but Collins just gulped nervously. _This is it_…He thought to himself as they climbed down the ladders and headed toward them. He didn't even think to wonder what they were doing up there.

"The fire escape," Roger nodded as if it made perfect sense. "Good choice, good choice. If only there was some sort of opening in the wall that you could just walk through…OH! When did you get _this_?" He questioned sarcastically, making a showman gesture at the apartment door.

Mimi slapped his arm playfully, leaning in to give her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.

Collins's eyes widened. Did Angel expect him to kiss him too? He looked him over, trying to read his expression. He was smirking awkwardly. Obviously he didn't know what to do either. But _God_ he looked good. Wearing nothing more than a red button-down shirt and a gray tee with ripped old jeans, Angel Dumott Schunard looked _perfect_. Collins had no idea what to do so he settled on a firm handshake. By this time of course, Roger was watching and grinning a slightly crazed smile. _Did I really just do that?_

"So," Roger stepped in. "Why the secrecy with the fire escapes? We could've just met you at the door, you know." Mimi stamped on Roger's foot aggressively. "_Ouch!_"

"Mind your own business!" She snapped. And immediately Collins knew that Angel was keeping a secret. He looked at him curiously.

Angel shrugged it off, "It's no big deal." He assured him. Collins knew there was something he wasn't telling him, but decided to drop it for Angel's sake.

"So," Mimi stepped in, the same way Roger had for Collins. "We should probably get going babe." She reminded Roger, and he nodded. She gave Angel a quick hug and whispered something to him in Spanish. Angel smirked and with a wave the couple took off down the street. He felt uneasy, alone with Angel.

"I guess we better get going." Angel offered, breaking the ice.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling that we're forgetting something…" He trailed off, furrowing his brow trying to remember just what that was.

"I believe this is yours." Roger interrupted, once again, dragging Mark over by the sleeve. "I found him standing next to a homeless man who was going through his pockets." He let go of him and walked off.

"_Marrrrrrrrrrrk!_" Collins groaned exasperatedly, not so happy with the idea of babysitting a blind seventeen year old on his first date with Angel.

"What happened to his glasses…?" Angel asked confusedly.

"Get in the taxi, I'll tell you on the way there."

**A/N: So that was Part I. Please review Part I and II separately, because it would help with criticism and compliments and all that jazz… So hope you liked this part. Onward to the next. **


	8. The Date: Part II

**A/N: Part II here we come. We sat in this room for God knows how long. This is the result. Enjoy or else.**

**Jon Larson owns it all**

**--**

"So where are we going anyway mijo?" Angel asked after Collins had explained Mark's situation in the taxi. Mark had gotten quieter since the hobo incident, so he didn't object when Collins told Angel the story.

"The Life Café." Collins answered. "I've never been there before but Roger took Mimi and they liked it so I figured we'd try it out." Angel nodded. He never complained or disagreed, which Collins thought was weird because he seemed like such an opinionated person.

The cab stopped in front of a small café and Collins payed the driver, then helped Mark get out of the car. Angel giggled, the torture Mark put his self through was more than entertaining. They all laughed, even Mark, as they walked into the Life for the first time.

The first thing Collins saw was a "Please Wait To Be Seated" sign, which he instinctively ignored, looking around for Maureen. Mark couldn't look for her, obviously. And Angel didn't know her yet. But he couldn't wait to introduce them. Maureen was one of his best friends, after all.

"_COLLINS! MARKY!"_ A brunette stood up at one of the tables, waving frantically and jumping up and down at the sight of them. She wore the most ridiculous outfit ever. In fact, Collins thought it might be a Halloween costume. He glanced at her and then did a double-take. The brunette was Maureen.

Collins, Angel, and Mark walked towards the table. Angel was laughing again while Collins just pretented he had no idea who this girl was. "Maureen!" Mark exclaimed, "You look beautiful!" And everyone in the café could immediately tell that he had some sort of vision problem.

Collins choked back laughter. Obviously, Mark was picturing the girl of his dreams in some extremely flattering dress, when the reality was so far from it. Her neon-colored dress was short but long-sleeved with wide horizontal stripes across it. Every color of the rainbow. Blue then green, then yellow…pink, purple. The list went on and on. She wore lime green, knee-high leather boots. The collar around her neck was bright blue but there was a cut to show off her chest. And of course, the terrible look was all topped off with a rainbow skull cap.

"Mo…" Collins said carefully, not wanting her to burst into tears during his date, "What's with the…costume?"

Maureen punched the air with her fist, "GAY PRIDE BABY!" She yelled, loud enough for the whole place to turn their attention to her. She just chuckled, "No! I'm not gay, they are. Duh." She explained, pointing to Angel and Collins. He wanted to kill her. So very much. The customers went back to their food, it was New York after all.

"Nice to meet you…?" Angel said uncertainly, directing the comment at Maureen, but looking at Collins as they took their seats at the table. Of course Mark missed his chair by an inch or so. Collins helped him back up into his seat.

"_What happened to Marky's glasses?_" Maureen stage-whispered to Collins.

He pulled them out of his back pocket and handed them to her. "He's your problem now." Maureen frowned.

The waitress arrived at the table and handed each of them a menu. "Hi, I'm Amanda. I'll be your waitress today at the Life. Can I start you off with some drinks?" She asked routinely, then her eyes fell on Maureen. "Nice hat." But she didn't catch the sarcasm in her voice.

They told her what they wanted and she arrived again a minute later with their beverages. Then she took their orders and disappeard again, heading back into the kitchen. Angel stared down at the table and Collins stared at Angel, he suddenly noticed something he hadn't seen before.

"Is that an…_earring?_" He asked him, gesturing towards his right ear. A small, plastic pink hoop dangled from Angel's ear. He quickly raised his hand to cover it.

"It's N-Nothing." Angel stuttered. "Umm…I have to go to the bathroom."

"Really? Which one do you use? Men or Women?" Maureen asked. Collins mentally slapped himself. _Why_ had he convinced her to come with them? Angel just made a beeline for the bathroom, looking upset.

Collins glared at Maureen. "When this is over, I am going to _kill_ you."

"Don't talk that way to her!" Mark demanded, standing up and knocking over a glass in the process. "Shit, I broke something, didn't I?" He asked the window. He hurried over to get a waiter while at the same time Amanda was walking to their table with the food. Mark collided with her, and they both fell to the floor. (Breaking more glassware.) A plate of spaghetti, sauce, and meatballs poured all over Mark's shirt.

"I felt that…" Mark muttered, wiping pasta from his shirt. "Ouch…it's hot."

"I'm sorry!" The waitress apoligized over and over. Maureen knelt down next to Mark and helped him wipe the food from his clothes. Collins sat at the table with his head in his hands, wishing the date would just _end._ And Angel chose the perfect time to emerge from the bathroom.

"It was an accident!" The server insisted as Angel tried to calm her down, patting her gently on the shoulder. "I didn't see him over the tray!"

"We know, hun." He said and Amanda left for the kitchen once more after another hug from Angel.

Maureen was pressing a wet cloth to get the stains out of Mark's shirt as best as she could when she took the glasses out of her pocket. "Here, take these _please_." She insisted, placing the glasses on Mark's face. He blinked and finally, he could see again.

"But I looked better before!"

"Marky, you looked _fine_ to begin with." Maureen smiled, so did Mark. And that was the end of that.

Angel joined Collins at the table where he still sat, not believing his bad luck. "Are you okay?" He asked, putting his hand on top of Collins's, and smiling encouragingly.

"Angel, I'm sorry." He said, looking up at him. "This whole date has been horrible. My friends suck, this sucks, _I _suck." He ranted, frustrated with himself.

"No you don't." He stated simply, "And don't ever say that again! Come with me outside, it's too loud in here to have a conversation." He suggested.

"What about the bill?"

"Let your sucky friends get it." Angel laughed and all at once Collins felt much better.

---------

Collins and Angel talked and laughed as they walked, gradually making their way back to Angel's apartment building. He knew that the date had to end but still wanted to ask Angel so many questions, about the earring and the fire escape. But then again, there was an element of mystery to it that he liked, so he didn't ask. The couple stood at the foot of the fire escape in silence for what felt to Collins like hours.

He looked at Angel and heard Roger's words in his mind.

_Collins, you've been wanting this to happen since the day you met him_.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this was probably the weirdest date you've ever been on, and it's the weirdest date I've ever been on too. And my friends are phycotic but they really don't mean anything by it and I really like you and---"

Before Collins could finish his rant, Angel had kissed him. It felt _amazing._ As soon as he realized what was going on, he kissed him back. And it ended too soon.

"Goodnight Collins." Angel whispered, and with that he climbed back up the fire escape.

**A/N: Everyone loves a happy ending…Too bad the story isn't **_**over**_**. Nice chapter-ending though. Reviews are lovely. **

**Wayne: Umm, okay, here's the deal: I've noticed that some people are adding this to their alerts and favorites and _not_ reviewing. You know who you are. I'm not saying anything bad, hell, I do it all the time. But I would really apreciate it if everyone who's reading this could review. Please? It might make us update sooner...**

**Alright, I hope you all took that into concideration. Okay, now, for your entertainment, I have put the picture of Maureen's dress in my profile, it's the first link in the profile. Okay, well, I hope you all loved the date. Now, you know the drill, PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me SO happy.**


	9. A Box of Captain Crunch

**A/N: YAY After a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng wait, here's an update. We're finally sitting down and doing this. Proud? We are. **

**Jon Larson owns it all**

"GO GET HIT BY A BUS!" Maureen yelled at a poor, unsuspecting Mark Cohen.

Mark put up his hands in defense, "All I asked was if it hurts when you wear tight clothes! I mean with the fabric pressing against your skin you think maybe it'd—

"YOU CALLED ME FAT!" She shrieked, and Mark flinched as though he thought she might hit him.

"Well, no…He didn't directly say _that_." Collins objected as the three of them walked down the street towards Roger's. It was the best he could do to stop the arguing without reinforcements, although in his opinion Maureen's clothes _were_ pretty tight.

"HE WAS HINTING AT IT!"

Mark opened his mouth to object but Collins interrupted him. "So last night, did you guys notice anything _weird_ about Angel?" he asked uncertainly, changing the subject.

"Pshht, Mark was totally blinded the whole time, he didn't _notice_ anything!" Maureen remarked with a smirk.

"_I noticed you._" He muttered under his breath, without looking at either of them.

"AWWW!" Maureen cooed sickeningly, wrapping her arms around Mark to give him a hug.

"Ewww!" Collins said in the exact same tone of voice. Maureen stuck her tongue out at him childishly. He ignored her. "But seriously guys, when Roger and me got to the place he came down the _fire escape_ instead of the front door… What's up with that?"

Maureen shrugged, "Maybe he was escaping a fire." Mark nodded as if that made perfect sense, for the sake of not fighting with her again.

"Because that makes _so_ much sense!" Collins snapped sarcastically.

"Well it is called a FIRE ESCAPE, duh." She retorted.

"What about the _earring_, Maureen? How do you explain that? Huh?" He said, desperate for her to just agree with him. There was something weird about Angel, and he was going to figure out what was going on. He just needed his friends to help him out. "The little pink hoop-earring! Explain to me what that was for."

Maureen didn't answer. Neither did Mark. They walked into Roger's building and he buzzed them up.

------------------

Mimi sat cross-legged on the floor in the living room, watching Roger who was tuning his Fender when they walked in. Roger's parents were hardly ever home which was why they took to hanging out there so much.

Collins threw his coat over the armrest, "Got any Captain Crunch, Rog?" he questioned rhetorically, walking into the kitchen to get his thinking food, while the rest of them sat down.

"Always man," He responded, not looking up from his guitar. Collins settled on the armchair with his bowl of cereal that always helped him think. And he had a lot of thinking to do.

"Well, I gotta go." Maureen announced, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Mo, why'd you walk all the way here if you weren't gonna stay?" Roger asked, finally looking up at someone.

"I needed the exercise," she shot a glance at Mark, "because I'm so _fat_." She explained decidedly, closing the door behind her. Everyone turned to Mark in unison.

"I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF THEY HURT!" He exclaimed irritably, crossing his arms. Roger and Mimi just looked more confused. Collins shrugged it off. He shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth, wondering what Angel was doing. And then it occurred to him. The person who knew most about Angel was sitting right in front of him.

"Mimi," Collins started. She looked up at him. "Uh…I noticed some kind of—_odd_ things about Angel yesterday."

"Like the fact that he didn't use the door?" Roger added, putting aside his guitar, a sign that he was actually interested in the conversation.

"So why would you think something's weird? There's nothing wrong with her-HIM."

"What was that?" Collins quirked an eyebrow.

"There's nothing wrong with him." Mimi repeated, but he _knew_ she'd said different.

"_Mhmm_…" Collins murmured, unconvinced. "Listen Mimi, I need to know what's going on with him! I've never thought of anything more. What was up with the fire escape? Why can't you just tell me?" He pleaded. It wasn't a lie, either. He couldn't get Angel off of his mind.

She looked sympathetic. "Because it's something Angel can tell you himself, if he wants to." Mimi looked at Roger for backup. She wasn't going to give up that easy.

"Just lay off, Collins! It's none of your business anyway." Roger never took someone else's side in an argument, not since he started dating Mimi.

"It IS my business, Rog. If you guys were my friends you'd understand how much this means to me!" He couldn't help but be frustrated. If nobody was going to give him the slightest clue, how was he supposed to figure Angel out? Collins grabbed his Captain Crunch and walked over to the door.

"HEY! THAT'S MY MOM'S BOWL—" But he had slammed the door behind him.

---------------

Collins walked down the sidewalk, alone and fuming. He was freezing his ass off in the cold, but he was too proud to go back to the apartment and get his coat after such a dramatic exit. Weren't his friends supposed to be _helping_ him through this? Instead they were making it a hell of a lot harder. If they could just understand how much he wanted his relationship with Angel to be easy, everything would run smoothly. He stuffed a handful of cereal into his mouth. Damn, it was cold. He walked into the nearest convenience store so that he could get warmer.

He was still angry at Roger and needed calming down. Cigarettes. Smoking always calmed him down, whether he was angry or nervous or upset. _No,_ he thought. _I promised him I'd try not to. _He debated with himself. _Screw it_. Collins picked up a pack of cigarettes and threw it down on the counter. He was getting his wallet from his pocket when the bell chimed, signaling a new customer and Angel walked into the store.

"_Shit_!" He exclaimed, a little too loudly. Loud enough to attract the attention of Angel.

"Collins? Hey!" He was walking towards him, and he panicked. Collins's first instinct was to dump his bowl of cereal on the counter over the pack. _Great hiding place_.

"WHAT THE HELL?" The counter-clerk, a rather pimply teenage boy, exclaimed.

"Hey Angel!" He waved, while the guy at the counter confusedly scooped up the Captain Crunch.

"Hey kid, are you gonna buy these or not?" He asked, waving the cigarettes in front of his face.

Angel stopped smiling. "Yeah Collins, are you gonna buy those or not?" He crossed his arms.

"Hey, how about you guys get the fuck out of the store before I call management?" He threatened.

Collins flipped him off, ignoring him otherwise. "Ang, no, just let me explain," He begged, grabbing his hand. But Angel pulled away, shaking his head and walking out of the store.

**A/N: Shame! But at least it's an update. Hope you guys like it. Can't stress enough how great it would be if you REVIEWED! And hopefully the next update will be around next week. **


	10. One Problem At A Time

**A****/N: HAPPY ****BELATED ****BIRTHDAY****S**** TO**** ADAM ****PASCAL AND ANTHONY RAPP. ****Update in honor of the birthdays. **

**Yeah, so basically I'm on my own as far as this chapter. (ProngsLovesRent, currently talking to you by the way. In case you wanted to know which one of us it was…) Anyway, I'm going to try to make t****his one at least sort of long****. We haven't had one of those in a while. And don't mind my Maureen/Collins friendship obsession.**

Collins sighed exasperatedly. EVERYTHING reminded him of Angel. He wished he'd never gone into that store. It wasn't like him to break a promise. He needed to get him out of his head. Collins leaned over and turned his radio on. He turned the volume up.

_Your lipstick, his collar…Don't bother Angel. I know exac-_

"You've got to be kidding me…" He mumbled to himself. He could not get away from that name. He groaned and switched the station.

_…you know, it makes__ it__ hard to be faithful. With the lips of an Angel-_

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed irritably. Two out of two. Now that's just weird. Desperately, he leaned over again and shut off the radio. He didn't believe in fate or signs. It was just an extremely unlikely coincidence. He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow in frustration. What was he supposed to do? How the hell was he supposed to make everything better? And then there was Roger, who'd called Collins once he got home and told him that he should stop bothering everyone about Angel and just deal with it. He'd told him that Mimi was right, and if Angel really liked him, he would've told him what was going on with him already. He'd hung up on him after he said it.

His bedroom door burst open. "THOMAS COLLINS!" Maureen shrieked, barging into the room and looking around. He couldn't remember inviting her…Typical. She looked around the room. "Well, this is depressing." She opened the blinds and light streamed in. "There _is_ life outside your apartment."

"Go away." Collins said dully, pulling his blanket over his head to block out the light.

"You don't really mean that!" Maureen exclaimed, pulling the comforter off of him and starting to fold it. "Cheer up. Put on some music!" She turned the stereo on.

_Hello there, the angel from my nightmare- _Collins punched the power button angrily. "No radio." He said sternly.

"But I like that song!"

He glared at her.

"Fine, no radio. _But_," she was straightening up around the room now; picking up miscellaneous items, squinting, or dusting them off, and putting them back anywhere that wasn't where she found them, "you ARE going to get out of the house today Collins, you can't sit alone in your room just because you're upset."

"Did my mother let you in? Because it doesn't seem like something she would do."

Maureen stuck her tongue out at him, "Tommy," she started, kneeling at his bedside, and saying as if he was a small child. Collins cringed at the name, "I'm going to take you to the park today."

"Meaning I'm either five years old or looking for a drug deal."

"C'mon! We're going to Central Park. I have to show you something there." She smiled and crinkled her nose in her special Maureenish way. "It's a surprise!"

Collins sighed, "Alright fine, maybe it'll help me get my mind off of Angel and arguing with Roger."

"Well I don't know about that."

------------------

It was cold outside again, just like it had been the day before. Why Collins hadn't remembered that, until he left the apartment he didn't know. But they'd made it to the park by now so he'd have to cope. "How much farther until we get to this surprise?" He wanted to get somewhere warm.

"Why the hell aren't you wearing a coat?" Maureen asked him as if reading his mind. She was trudging several feet behind him, because she couldn't keep up, with her stilettos in the snow.

"I left my coat at Roger's. Unlike you, we don't all have a coat in every color of the rainbow. I'm not going to back there to get it, either" He shivered.

"Well, it's about to get a hell of a lot colder!" Maureen exclaimed.

"Wha-" He turned around to look at her and a snowball nailed him in the face. Icy water started dripping down his neck. It was probably less than twenty degrees out there. He wasn't wearing a coat. And this was her idea of funny. His face started to go completely numb in the cold. But for some reason, Collins smiled.

Maureen collapsed in the snow, laughing hysterically. "Oh my god…that was so perfect!" she cried. "I' m sorry! I had too! I REALLY had to!"

Collins sat in the snow next to her. "It's okay…" he said, gathering up snow in his fist and clenching it so that she couldn't see, "I love you, Maureen!" he hugged her from behind and when his arm was around her neck, he dropped the snowball down the front of her shirt. Maureen's eyes widened and she yelped. He got up and started running. She chased after him.

"You asshole!" she yelled, laughing. The front of her shirt was soaked. She couldn't catch him though. Her heel either kept getting stuck in the snow, or she'd slip on patches of ice.

Collins reached the Gapstow bridge and stopped dead, Maureen caught up to him and put her hand on his shoulder, panting. "Why'd you stop?" she asked, confusedly.

Collins shook his head in disbelief. Mark and Roger stood at the other end of the bridge. "Mo, you set me up for this, didn't you? There's no surprise." He realized dejectedly. "I don't want to talk to him."

Comprehension dawned on Maureen's face, as though she had just remembered why she brought him there. "It was Mark's idea…" She explained guiltily, "He figured you'd have to make up if you guys were forced to talk to each other. It's really just a stupid fight, over something that Roger probably only said for his girlfriend. You guys can't just like forgive and forget?" She pleaded, pouting.

"I don't want to talk to him." Collins repeated. But they were already walking towards them.

"I knew it was a bad idea…I told Mark! I told him I'd rather do something that would take your mind off of everything. Like finding a bunch of the best looking gay guys in the city…"

"You've cleaned my room, brought me to the park, and now you're trying to set me up on play dates? What's next, Mom? Can I get a happy meal after?" He snapped sarcastically.

Now they were only a couple feet away. Maureen elbowed Collins in the ribs, "_Say something!"_ she demanded under her breath. "_Or you will not get your fucking McDonald's, young man!" _She grinned in spite of herself.

"Hey Mark." Collins mumbled a greeting, with a halfhearted wave. Mark didn't answer though. He was staring at Maureen's wet t-shirt. He probably didn't even notice he was, either. "_HEY_ Mark." He said again, only louder.

"What? Oh hey Collins." His cheeks, already pink from the cold, reddened all the more. "_H__ey Maureen_," Maureen rolled her eyes and zipped up her jacket. "So, it's a coincidence seeing you guys here!" Mark lied.

"_Like hell it is…"_ Collins and Roger murmured in unison. They looked at each other. Roger looked just as mad as Collins felt, whether the anger was at Collins for refusing to talk to him, or at Mark for bringing him there, he didn't know. He vaguely wondered how Mark had tricked Roger into showing up. Finally Roger said something.

"Too proud for a coat?"

"Too whipped for an opinion?" He retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roger asked, as if he honestly didn't know what he was talking about.

"Nothing, I just didn't know when you started dating Mimi you became one mind. Decided not to stay on your friend's side anymore. What happened to Bros before Hos?"

"It was like that with other girls I dated. It's not the same with Mimi." Roger defended himself. Collins wasn't buying it, though. He didn't care who he was dating. Roger knew Collins needed support in the whole Angel thing.

"So you're just going to take her side, even if your friend needs you?" He was getting frustrated again; he didn't feel like sticking around. "You know what? I don't need to talk to you. I could be calling Angel. I'm going home." Collins turned around and started walking off. Of all the times to be giving up smoking…

"Good!" Roger called after him, "You can take the phone up to the roof, that way after he hangs up on you, you can just jump." He yelled. Collins felt a chill go down his spine. He turned around, ready to punch him in the face. Maureen shrieked. Mark caught him by the shoulder.

"Collins, don't!" He demanded, "Think about it, it's not worth it!" He tried to restrain him from getting at Roger.

Collins stopped, "You're right." He admitted, glaring at Roger, who was still standing there smugly. He turned on his heel, and started home.

------------------

Collins sat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, breathing in and out heavily. Part of him wish he had punched Roger. The other part wished the stupid fight would be over and that they could just be friends. There was a knock on the door. He didn't respond. The door opened anyway. In came Maureen, holding a colorful paper bag.

"What's that?" He asked, looking up at her.

"Happy Meal." She answered with a weak smile. "It's supposed to make you feel better. I mean it is a _happy_ meal."

Collins shook his head with a smirk. "I can't believe you brought me a happy meal…Thanks."

"I figured it's what a good mom would do." Maureen shrugged, sitting down on the bed. "Listen, what Roger said was out of line, but I know he didn't mean it. He's really torn about this. He just doesn't want to upset Mimi. It doesn't mean he'll never take your side again."

"I know." He said, not really feeling like talking about it. "So don't you have anything better to do then spend the whole day with me?" He questioned, for sake of a topic change.

"Oh, I'm not here alone." She gave a halfhearted smile, "There's someone else here to see you." She opened the bedroom door. "Ang, you can come in now! He's safe!" Maureen called out into the hallway. Collins tensed. She must be kidding. But Angel appeared, looking as good as he always did. "I got better acquainted with Angel while you were locked up here in your room. And I think you guys need to talk, but that's just my expertise. So I'm gonna leave you alone. Bye." And she was gone.

Awkward.

"Uhmm…Want a fry?" Collins broke the silence.

"Just one?" Angel quirked his brow.

"It's a happy meal…there's like eight." Angel nodded and took a fry.

There was a long silence. He had to say something. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Collins apologized, "I told you I could explain. I was buying those because I was frustrated and I needed to calm down. Before that, I hadn't even thought about smoking since I told you I'd stop, I swear. I was mad at my best friend, and I was confused and I didn't think! Angel, I would never want to break a promise to you. I really-"

"COLLINS! You're rambling again." He stopped him, smiling little. "I know, I believe you. You just have to swear to me that you'll never lie, and mean it when you make a promise and I'll forgive you."

Collins beamed. He leaned over and kissed Angel, feeling happy that something was finally going right. "I promise."

**A/N: Alright, I had to end it there. Because I know I was boring you all. Review and I'll be your best friend**** And I'll let SiriusLovesRent write the next ****chapter**** so it's not as bad, deal?**** By the way, mad props to anyone who can name the three songs in the beginning.**** (Sorry that they wouldn't have been around when the ****Bohos**** were teenagers)**

**Okay guys…we have ****A NEW CONTEST****! (Because that's always fun) The reader who reviews the most interesting review (as in entertaining/random/insightful/or however you want to impress us) will get to make a quote for us to put in Chapter 11. The only thing is**** you can't tell us which character should say it. We get to decide. The quote can be as long as a sentence. And only ****one**** sentence. We encourage anyone who reviews to try! We'll message you if you get the most interesting review. ****Annnnd Happy reviewing.**


	11. Reunited

**A/N: You guys, we are so ashamed of ourselves for the lateness of updating. BAD us. BAD. I think this is the longest gap we've ever gone without updating. We didn't have writer's block. This chapter was planned months ago. It's just the whole getting time and getting together. Very, very difficult. And then Wayne with his whole meeting Adam Pascal and becoming like his best friend and seeing him constantly. Message him if you want to know about that. He'll be glad to show off. **

**Let's do this. We have to get back to this story. WE'RE PUMPED!**

The phone rang.

Collins rolled on his side groggily. He had been sleeping. He let the phone ring a few more times and when he realized the caller wasn't giving up, reached for it and picked up. According to his alarm clock, it was 2 o'clock in the morning.

"Hello?"

"_Dude, thank god you answered." _It was Roger. There was an edge to his voice, something Collins couldn't pick up in his only half-conscious state.

"It's the middle of the night, Rog…" Collins mumbled sitting up in his bed. He had, for one moment, forgotten all about the fight he and Roger were in the middle of. And it seemed insane that he had just had a falling out with him in the park only hours ago. That could've been centuries ago. Here he was calling him up just like it was any ordinary day. He missed this normality.

"_Collins, man...I don't know how to say this…_ _Angel's kind of in the hospital." _

So much for normality.All of a sudden Collins was wide awake, broadly aware of everything. Was this some kind of prank phone call? He felt anger surging inside him. But no, there was no laughing in the background. The voices he could hear weren't familiar. And maybe it was his imagination, but there were faint noises like the beeping and whirring of machines.

"Roger, what are you talking about? What is going on? What happened? What do you _mean_ the hospital? I just saw him a few hours ago!" He protested.

"_Dude…A lot can happen in a couple hours. Why would I be joking about this? I don't even know what's going on. Mimi would've called you but she's _hysterical_. She thought you should know. And maybe you like want to get down here? I know how much you hate these places, but I dunno…" _

Collins considered this. He felt his pulse quicken. He was terrified. So many things could have happened. Of course he wanted to get down there and find out what was going on. Find out if Angel was okay. He owed it to him to be there. What exactly was he to Angel?

"Yeah, yeah definitely." He said decidedly, hopping out of bed and pulling on a pair of jeans. The clock he saw out of the corner of his eye reminded him of the irrationality of going out. He'd wake his mother if he tried to leave the apartment. And, well, she wouldn't approve. He didn't have time to explain this. His eyes fell on the window and he realized there was only one way he'd be getting out. He'd take the fire escape, like Angel. "Just say where."

--

It wasn't much more than a half hour later that Collins went through the large spinning door into the hospital that Roger had named to him on the phone. He stepped into the lobby, with its crisp hospital scent; the clean disinfectant smell that generally came before the smell of sick and old people. He surveyed the room and at once saw Roger, seated in a folding chair awaiting his arrival. He smiled weakly at him.

Awkward.

"Rog," Collins started, approaching him, for lack of anything else to say.

"Coll." Roger returned, smirking halfheartedly and getting to his feet. The two stared at each other for a minute or two. Not in a condescending way, but more considering the other, like it had been years since they had stopped speaking to one another instead of a couple of days.

"Listen," Collins finally said, thinking someone had to say something. "Thanks for calling, and you know I'm sorry about freaking out on you and everything. Because I can't fight with you right now."

"Dude," He shrugged it off sympathetically, "I was the asshole. I didn't mean any of the shit that I said, really." He raised his arms from his sides, "Hug it out man." He grinned slightly. And Collins, who would've found this hilarious in the right situation, chuckled and hugged his friend.

"Now…let's go see about that boyfriend of yours." He said uncertainly, navigating the way down a long corridor. Collins followed him nervously with his hands stuffed in his pockets down towards the elevator. He stared at the unfriendly white walls. They rode up to the fifth floor in silence, Collins wanting to ask so many questions, but knowing that Roger probably knew just as little as he did. He wasn't the right person to ask. So he kept his worried thoughts to himself all the way up and down another hall towards the waiting room where they found Mimi standing at a desk, harassing a receptionist.

Her face was tearstained and her long curly hair was pulled back into a bun. She wore pajama pants and one of Roger's sweatshirts. Collins vaguely wondered how she had been awoken. She may have been small, but she was threatening. Her face contorted with anger as she argued with the woman at the desk.

"LISTEN, YOU! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME THAT I CAN'T GO IN THERE AND SEE MY_ BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD_!?" She yelled, slamming her fist on the counter. The secretary looked highly affronted. Roger tried to calm her down, pulling her back away towards a chair.

"Well," the curt middle-aged woman looked up at her over her glasses, "You are _not_ the parent or guardian of Angel Schunard, correct?"

This just made her angrier.

"DO YOU KNOW WHY ANGEL SCHUNARD IS IN THAT ROOM? TRUST ME, HIS PARENTS DO NOT GIVE A FU-" Roger clasped his hand over Mimi's mouth and managed to force her to reluctantly settle into one of the chairs. Collins sat next to her while Roger tried to reason with the receptionist.

He racked his brain for a polite way to say what he wanted to say to her, but decided he really couldn't care and to be blunt. "Okay, Mimi, what the hell's going on with Angel?"

Mimi looked at him as if just realizing he was there. She seemed to debate on what to say and what not to say, and as she was opening her mouth to speak, a woman that Collins decided was a nurse walked into the waiting room. She walked to over to two guys sitting a few chairs away from the small group. "Are you the friends of Angel Schunard?"

Mimi jumped out of her seat, and her eyes were suddenly wide and alert. Her hand shot into the air and she jumped a few times. "WE ARE!"

Collins looked over at Roger. His head was down and his shoulders were shaking in laughter. Collins smirked at him, despite the current situation. Roger shrugged sheepishly. "Couldn't help it. She makes me laugh." He gazed up at Mimi lovingly.

"Well," The nurse smiled at them. "You can see him now, if you want."

"Hey, I don't need telling twice." She made to run out of the room, but Roger caught her arm gently. He pulled her close to him. "Maybe we should let Collins see him first." He suggested, gesturing toward Collins.

Mimi looked at him incredulously. "But---but…I---him…" Mimi didn't seem to know what to say. Roger smiled softly. "Come on." He whispered. "Please? You'll get to see him right after he's done."

"…promise?" she looked between the two friends. Collins smiled and put an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah."

She sighed. "Okay, fine. Be quick."

Collins nodded. He turned toward the room. "What room?"

"Nine." The nurse smiled again and nodded her head toward the door separating the waiting room and the infirmary. "You want me to walk you there?"

Collins shook his head no. "'M okay." She nodded. "Just call if you need anything."

He smiled weakly at her and walked through the door, glancing one more time at Roger and Mimi. Roger winked at him and mouthed, _Go_.

"_Pressure's on and I'm melting in the spotlight…"_ Collins muttered under his breath, turning the knob and entering the room.

**A/N: Oh. My. God. You guys, it's up. So proud. You know you want to review. DO IT !**

BY THE WAY

**My amazing friend WriteNameHere is the winner of the last contest. Her quote: "The pressure's on and I'm melting in the spotlight." If anyone wants to get angry over the fact that I happen to be friends with her, then read her review. It was truly the most original and definitely pleased us so that's that. **

**We have to credit Amanda and RemusLovesRent for entertaining us as we wrote this chapter.**

**AND Mika. For having amazing happy music to listen to while you write. I highly recommend it. **

**(If you think our author's notes should be short and sweet and that our fic is a sloppily executed waste of time, coughiampiecough then please just don't review.)**

**Although we do respect helpful FRIENDLY criticism. G'day. **


	12. Go Fuck a Duck

**A/N: Agh. What a long wait. So this is about the 50 millionth time we've sat down and tried to write good old Chapter 12. ProngsLovesRent here. I wonder if we'll actually get it done this time. Padfoot, anything you'd like to say?**

**No**

**Someone's grumpy.**

**TIRED**

**Its 12:35…pm. Like afternoon. You can't be tired**

**I can be tired IF I WANT. WRITE THE GODDAMN CHAPTER**

**Told you he was grumpy. Welcome to Chapter 12.**

"HOLY…_SMURF_, ANGEL!" Collins exclaimed at the sight of Angel's state.

"Smurf?"

"Yeah. I don't really feel right cursing in hospitals…"

"Why?"

"Isn't God present or some shit? Erm, I mean some _smurf_."

"That's church."

"Right."

"Wanna try again?"

"Sure."

"Go for it."

"HOLY _SHIT_, ANGEL!"

Angel smiled slightly, "I'm fine, Collins."

Angel wasn't fine.

"What the fuck _happened_ Ang?" He demanded, exasperated that he still had no idea what was going on and no one seemed to have any intention of clueing him in. Angel sighed.

The facts were these: As he explained to Collins over the next ten minutes, Angel was rushed to the hospital against his will when Mimi found out what had happened. After Angel left Collins's apartment late that night, he came home to find his father, who Collins learned was abusive and an alcoholic. He didn't accept Angel's sexuality or anything about him for that matter. The fact that he happened to come home so late, mixed with his drunken anger were the reasons for Angel's new various bruises, broken arm, and the scar he now had across her left cheek. Collins cringed as he listened to the story.

"That explains the fire escape then." He concluded. He was sympathetic, furious, and worried all at once, but relieved that Angel was okay.

He nodded solemnly, "I was trying to get out of the house without him noticing. I do that sometimes. I'll go to Mimi's or anywhere at all." Angel shrugged, as if none of it was a big deal.

"Angel," Collins said seriously, looking him in the eye, "you know, you can't go back to your house. It's not safe."

"I know." Angel said, frowning. He furrowed his brow in thought, "So where do I go?"

"Leave that up to us."

* * *

A little less than a half hour later, Collins, Roger, and Mimi all sat in the waiting room when a certain drama queen barged into the room, running over to the three of them with an unfamiliar girl following at her heels.

"I came as soon as I heard!" She cried.

"Hey Maureen," Collins smiled at her. He looked over her shoulder at the girl standing behind her. He looked at Maureen questioningly.

Maureen didn't catch on and kept rambling. "So what happened? Do we know? Ew, the color of these walls _suck_! It's so distracting!" She looked over at the desk. "Excuse me, who's your decorator? Not me, or anyone with eyes, obviously." The poor woman shrugged awkwardly.

"Maureen…" Roger whined, grabbing her arm.

"What?" She whined back.

Roger gave her a look. "Stop being stupid."

"MAUREEN!" Collins waved his arms desperately, trying to get her attention. She looked back over at him. Collins thought of the most polite way to ask the question on his mind. "Umm…have we met?" He asked, gesturing toward the girl behind Maureen.

"Oh! No! This is Joanne! I met her at McDonalds when I was being amazing and getting you and Angel back together. She was hanging out at my house." Maureen grabbed the other girl's arm, yanking her forward.

"Uhm Hi…" The girl called Joanne said with a short wave at the group. Poor thing. One minute she's meeting a seemingly innocent chick in McDonalds, and the next she's at a hospital with a group of people she doesn't know.

"Mo, this is kind of important," Collins said, "Did you really have to bring your friend? No offense."

Roger sighed with his head in his hands, "Who the fuck called _her_?" He snapped, eyeing Maureen irritably.

Mimi raised her hand timidly, "I did."

"Oh, well that was a great idea Meems," He said sweetly.

**A/N: coughwhippedcough**

She smiled, "Well, I thought that we could use all the help we could get."

"Help with what?" Maureen asked, plopping down in one of the chairs next to her, and gesturing for Joanne to do the same.

Just then, another person entered the waiting room.

"I'm here, you guys! Am I late?" Mark asked nervously, making his way over to his friends in his pajamas and fluffy white bunny slippers. "I was sitting in my room watching School House Rock when I got the call and I rushed right over!"

Roger laughed, "Oh, you're cool."

"Hey I _CAME_, and I was in the middle of Conjunction Junction!" The nerd retorted.

"Oh well, that is the function." Collins added in his defense, smirking.

"Because you're SO much cooler!"

Collins shrugged, "That's why they call me Coolins."

"Well you know what?" Mark snapped, his face contorted with anger and embarrassment, "GO FUCK A DUCK, COLLINS!"

"Ouch."

"Um, you guys!" Mimi interjected, "Can we get to the point of why we're here?"

"Why are we here?" Joanne asked confusedly from her seat.

They all looked at her.

"She speaks in full sentences!" Roger gasped.

Maureen stuck her tongue out at him, "Hardy har. Of course she does. Do you think I'd ever befriend a retarded person?"

"Nah, you're way too shallow." Roger agreed.

"Hey, she befriended Mark." Collins pointed out.

"That's true! I have a dork friend! Maybe I'm not so shallow!" Maureen beamed proudly.

"Um, you guys!" Mimi repeated, trying to get their attention, "Shut up for a minute! We have things to accomplish!"

Maureen pouted, "She's right. Sorry Mimi," she said with an apologetic smile, "This meeting of the Mardacohllinssen Crew is now in order!"

"What the fuck is the Mardacoh-whatever you said?" Roger asked.

"It's the name I gave us! Isn't it cute? It's all of our last names all mashed up into one!"

"Clever," Mark said.

"Not really!" Roger argued.

Collins sighed, "Well then the meeting of whatever this is is now in order!"

"He always thinks everything she does is clever…" Roger mumbled. "She's not that brilliant. She's actually kinda dumb."

"Roger," Collins pointed a finger at him. In defense, Roger held up his hands and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, so," he started, not sure how exactly he wanted to explain the situation, or if he had the right to be the one to tell them. He had to just dive right in and say it, "Angel's in the hospital because…his dad- well his dad's an asshole."

Maureen shrugged, "So is mine." She replied, apparently not quite understanding.

"Mo, he's a different kind of asshole."

"Like 'No, I won't give you shopping money' kind of asshole?"

"Maureen, he fucking _hits_ Angel!" Roger shouted heatedly, loud enough to attract the attention of people nearby.

"Oh." Maureen said. And then, she didn't say anything else. It was definitely a first for Maureen to be silenced.

None of them really knew what to say.

"Sorry," Roger apologized, "She just doesn't fucking catch on." Maureen frowned, but didn't defend herself.

"Well," Mimi spoke, "anyway, her dad-"

"Her?" This time Mark interrupted.

She sighed, "Yeah, _her_. Angel's a little more feminine than you guys know," she explained. Collins gave her a confused look, "A cross dresser. I mean, not all of the time, but more and more frequently lately. And when her dad found out, he was _mad_. That's a lot of the reason why she's here." She bit her lip, looking around at the waiting room, teary-eyed. Roger put an arm around her shoulder.

Collins didn't know what to say now. He couldn't see why Angel hadn't told him this. He wouldn't have minded at all. All he cared about was Angel getting the hell away from her dad. "So what we want to figure out is where exactly Angel's going to go."

**A/N: FINE-UH-LEE.**

**I think Padfoot's falling asleep on me.**

**The chapter ends here! And seeing as the two of us are on Spring Break now, (Thank God) we may be able to get a much faster update. Yay for us!**

**Reviewreviewreviewreviewreview!**

**P.S. Sorry about the "the facts were these" We were in a Pushing Daises kind of mood. **


	13. Your Idea Can Suck My Idea

**A/N: Gah. We're horrible. We don't update anymore. BUT IT WILL START AGAIN! Starting on July 12, 2008, SiriusLovesRent declares that we will NOT forget An Angel Indeed anymore! Or we'll try not to. So yeah. This is your dear Padfoot leading you through this chapter. Um..I know it sucks. And its a pathetic attempt at being funny. I'm sorry. I'll let Prongs write the next one. Promisepromisepromise.**

**JONOWNSRENT.**

**--**

Maureen put her hands on her hips and shrugged. "I just don't see the problem."

The others looked at her incredulously. "Maureen, Angel can't sleep under Collins's bed." Mark said, helping Angel out of the cramped space under the bed and to his feet.

He stretched his arms. "Seriously guys, I don't want to bother anyone." He said, lowering himself down on Collins's bed next to Mimi and Roger.

Collins shook his head and sat next to him. "You're not bothering me. At all." He said firmly. Angel smiled and kissed him softly.

"HEY!" Roger groaned. "You're in love, we get it! Tone down on the making out though, eh?"

"Roger, shut _up_. Can you manage that for five minutes?" Mimi rolled her eyes. And, predictably, Roger promptly shut his mouth.

On the other side of the room, Maureen was studying Collins's bedroom intently. She scratched her head and looked at her friends. "How about the closet?"

"Mo, aren't we already past that part?" Roger snickered.

"Oh fuck you!" She crossed her arms, annoyed. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Roger shrugged. "Personally, I'm going for putting a light bulb in his mouth and telling Collins's parents he's a lamp."

Maureen's rolled her eyes at him. "You know what? Your idea can suck my idea because your idea is my idea's bitch." She crossed her arms. "That doesn't even _make sense_."

Collins rubbed his forehead exasperatedly. It was about a week after Angel's hospitalage. He had been sleeping at Collins's and Mimi's houses over the week, but Mimi's room wasn't built for two. So the group had come together and decided whose house Angel would live at. They decided on Collins's. And it wasn't that he _didn't _want Angel to stay with him. It was that A: His parents weren't aware. And B? Well, his room wasn't exactly built for two either.

"Hey," Angel's voice pulled Collins out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?" Collins sighed and leaned against Angel for support. "Yeah. I just need to find somewhere for you to fucking _stay_."

"If I may intercourse," Collins was too tired to tell Maureen she had _most definitely _used the word wrong. "If we take all your shit out of the _closet_, and use _my _plan from the _start_, we have Angel's new living space."

"Show us your ways, wise Maureen." Roger said dully.

"Okay," Maureen muttered absently, bending down and tossing Collins's possessions out of the closet at the rest of the group. Things like old pictures, empty cans, random clothes, and, to everyone's amusement, a pair of his boxers were tossed through the air.

Mark caught a pair and threw them at Collins. Collins laughed when he noticed they were the pair with the little computers on them. "Oh those are just lovely, Collins." Mark commented.

Roger snorted grabbing them from Collins and holding them up to his face. "Oh yes, they match your eyes."

Collins snickered. "Okay, that's gotta end." He grabbed the boxers back and put them under the bed.

"You know," Angel said, leaning forward and staring under the bed. "Your under-the-bed space would actually be livable if you didn't toss so much crap down there."

"DONE!" Maureen announced, standing proudly and gesturing with her hands to the now-clean closet.

"Wow!" Collins whistled. "I didn't even know I had that much of a closet."

"Good job Maureen." Mark smiled at her.

"Thanks!" She said, grinning. "I'm good, huh?"

"So is Angel gonna sleep there? What's the deal?" Mimi stood, inspecting the closet.

"Well," Maureen hurried over to the bed and grabbed a blanket and pillow and began making up a small bed-thing. "Most likely, he'll sleep in here. Because, y'know, what happens if Collins's parents walk in and see a guy in his room? He goes in there after dark or whenever Collins's parents walk in. Yes?" She looked around the room for approval. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Great!" Maureen chirped, standing again. She perched herself on the end of Collins's bed and gestured for Angel to go check it out. Angel stood and looked at his new living quarters for a few moments and then turned to the room, grinning, and gave a thumbs up.

Maureen clapped and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "AWESOME!"

"Thank you, so much, Maureen." He smiled as she let him go. "To everyone, really."

"Hey, we're not that as dumb as we look." Roger grinned a lopsided little grin.

"Speak for yourself." Mark muttered.

"SHUT. UP. MARK." Roger said, picking up his shoe from the floor and throwing it at the albino's head. "Hahaha! Yes, that's right, I hit your giant head with my shoe!"

"MY HEAD ISN'T THAT BIG!"

"SHUT UP! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU?" Maureen cried, flicked Roger in the head. "WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT YOU! WE DON'T TALK ABOUT ME _NEARLY _ENOUGH AS WE SHOULD!"

"He started it! And we _ALWAYS _talk about you! We don't _stop _talking about you!"

Angel sat back down between Collins and Roger. "Thank you." Angel said graciously, taking Collins's hand.

"Of course." Collins smiled.

And the fighting died down. And the friends sat happily among each other. And all was well.

"EW! ROGER! THAT'S _SICK_!"

"SHUT YOUR BOOB, MAUREEN! LIKE YOU DON'T SCRATCH YOUR ASS!"

"Guys, stop fighting."

"Yes, Mimi."

"...baby."

"WHO ASKED YOU?"

As well as it could be, anyway.

**A/N: Ew. That was reallllllllllllly bad. I'm sorry. Try not to hate me too much ): Not much to say in this Author's Note...**

**Um...Review? Please? I beg you?**

**Oh and if you can catch the Title of Show reference, you're gonna be my best friend (:**

**We'll try to update sooner.**


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